


Harmonize on the third

by TheGirlNoOneKnows5



Category: Druck | SKAM (Germany)
Genre: Druck Fandom Gift Exchange, Family Issues, Friendship, M/M, Rivals to Lovers, choir, he's essentially rachel berry, matteo's snakiness returns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:34:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21583108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGirlNoOneKnows5/pseuds/TheGirlNoOneKnows5
Summary: When a cute new guy arrives at school, Matteo is instantly smitten...Until he becomes his biggest competition for the lead soloist position in the choir.Or, the rivals to lovers choir fic you didn't know you needed
Relationships: Matteo Florenzi/David (Druck)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 83





	Harmonize on the third

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Leoniejulie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leoniejulie/gifts).



> Hello, hello and welcome to this silly little oneshot I wrote while on breaks at work. 
> 
> Thank you to [Pauline](shakshuka-grandpasweaters.tumblr.com) for organising this gift exchange. It's a neat idea <3
> 
> For [Leonie](https://dreamy-slytherin.tumblr.com/) ;) p.s. jebbe 4eva

Matteo was late. Again. 

"Shit, shit, shit."

He darted down the hallway. Knew he should've been running. If merely walking fast didn't leave him out of breath. Running was not Matteo's style. 

"Hurry, boy, hurry!" some idiot called after him. Matteo couldn't be bothered to register who it was. There was no time. 

No time to do anything except – stare at the most gorgeous guy he'd ever seen. Ever would see.

Matteo came to an abrupt stop, sneakers skidding on the linoleum. Several metres in front of him stood a guy in dark clothes, looking lost. A frown creased his forehead and he darted his eyes around while he stood right in the middle of the hallway. Lost and cute. 

The guy looked up at Matteo, as if hearing his thoughts. Matteo gulped. Drowned in brown eyes. Felt his heart skip. He couldn't look away. 

"Um. Could you maybe help me?"

 _Oh fuck, he's talking to me_ , Matteo thought. He cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders. "Are… you lost?" 

The guy gave him a helpless smile. "Yeah." 

"What - uh, what do you need to find?" 

The guy looked at the crumpled schedule in his hand. He had nice hands. "The gym." He laughed nervously. "First day."

Matteo gestured to him. "Yeah, I guessed." 

"Do I stand out?" 

More than he knew. Matteo pulled his lips in, unable to look away from this guy's mischievous gaze. "Sure." 

"All I get is 'sure'," the guy said with a small chuckle. "Alright." 

They smiled at each other for a while until Matteo remembered he was still very much late. Even later now. _Shit._ As much as he wanted to stay talking to this cute stranger until his untimely end, Matteo had to go. 

"Uh, the gym is down that hallway, to the left," he said, gesturing behind him. He regretted he couldn't walk him there. "Keep going and you won't miss it." 

The guy hiked his backpack further on his shoulder and gave Matteo a grateful nod. "Thanks. I'll find it eventually."

"Hope you don't have _General_ Neuhaus."

"Is he painful?" 

"Excruciating." 

The guy looked down the hallway, forlorn. "Keep me in your thoughts." 

That was without question. Matteo knew this guy would be on his mind for some time. "Sure."

"Sure." 

With another smile, the guy turned down the hallway in search of the horrid school gym. Matteo watched him go for a while, entranced by the way his mass of dark hair bounced as he walked. 

A bell rang, pulling him out of it. "Oh, fuck." He didn't even get his name. 

*****

The echoes of laughter got closer. Matteo reached the door, puffing and panting. He ended up giving in and ran the rest of the way. The salty dampness on his forehead was all he needed to know that it was a mistake. He collected himself outside, smoothing down his jumper and wild hair. Probably looked like a wet rat. 

Matteo figured people were used to seeing him undone and pushed through the door. The choir was spread around the classroom, chatting and singing to each other. 

"Matteo," Mrs. Dandekar said in her 'teacher voice'. Everyone stopped to look at him. 

_Awesome_

"Hey."

Mrs. Dandekar peeked at her watch. "Late." 

"Yeah."

"Again?" 

"Yeah."

"You need to leave home earlier," she told him.

She had a point. Though Matteo didn't like it. Getting out of bed early in the morning was torturous. Whoever decided on the school schedule was clearly a masochist. 

"Rehearsal starts at nine, not nine twenty-five," Kiki said. 

They stared each other down. Matteo couldn't be bothered to keep it up and let her win. She seemed pleased at her small victory. 

"Alright, now that everyone's here," Mrs. Dandekar began, getting everyone's attention, "We have something important to discuss." Everyone leaned in, interests piqued. She nodded at someone across from her. 

Jonas walked to the front of the room, rubbing his palms together. _Uh oh._ He only did that when he was nervous. Matteo exchanged a wary glance with Hanna.

"So, yeah," Jonas chuckled, and Matteo did _not_ like his tone of voice. "You guys know I love this choir," he began. Matteo frowned, hoping this wasn't going where he thought it was. "And we've had the greatest times." 

"You're leaving us," Leonie said flatly. 

"I don't want to put it like that." 

_Fuck_

"You really are leaving?" Hanna asked sadly. It was the end of the world. 

Jonas gulped. "Hey. I'll still be around."

"Why are you quitting?" Kiki asked, almost accusatory. 

Jonas shrugged helplessly. "With school and work and my record deal, I need to refocus." 

"And you decided the choir isn't important enough." 

"If he wants to leave, he can leave," Matteo spoke up from where he was still standing at the door. He averted his eyes when everyone looked at him. "It's his business," he said with a shrug. Took one risky glance in Jonas's direction - got rewarded with a grateful nod. 

"Jonas isn't abandoning us, he's simply moving on," said Mrs. Dandekar. She turned to him. "And we'll miss you dearly." 

"But wait. Who's going to be lead soloist now?" Kiki asked. 

Matteo hadn't even thought of that. The entire mood of the room transformed into something 'stagey'. That strange mix of excitement and competitive drive they often felt in choir. 

"That's the other thing we need to discuss," said Mrs. Dandekar. "We'll be needing a new lead soloist for the end of year Christmas concert, so that means…" She nodded to Jonas.

"We're holding auditions," he finished. 

An excited chatter spread around the room. Replaced the shock of Jonas's tragic announcement. 

"In three weeks," Mrs. Dandekar added.

"That doesn't really make sense," said Leonie. "We need the soloist for the Christmas concert." 

"The concert is two months away, we can still rehearse in the meantime.”

“Without a lead?”

“We’ve made our way around stranger things,” Mrs. Dandekar pointed out. Like the time the power in the school hall went out and they had to perform with candles. Or the time their pianist didn’t show and Mia stepped in last minute.

Leonie and Sara shared an unconvinced look while the excited chatter from everyone else resumed. Matteo crept into a corner where no one would try to talk to him. He meant what he said; it was Jonas’s right to leave choir if that was what he wanted. That didn’t mean Matteo had to like it. Or the way everyone forgot all about it the second an opportunity to be the centre of attention arose. 

“The audition is open to everyone, so good luck,” Mrs. Dandekar said over the noise.

Jonas weaved through the traitors to get to Matteo. He stood in front of him with an apologetic smile. His shoulders were tense. 

“Say what you’re gonna say, man,” Matteo said, trying a little too hard to appear nonchalant.

“I think I’ll miss you the most.”

“Jesus, you’re not dying,” Matteo laughed.

Jonas pointed at his smile. “It made you laugh, though.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

They looked at each other, fond but awkward. “I meant to tell you about it, I just.” He shrugged, hands in his pockets. “I don’t know, it’s weird. It’s not like I _want_ to leave.” 

“It’s okay,” Matteo assured him. “Seriously. I mean, it sucks, but. We’ll still see each other like every day.”

“Yeah,” Jonas said with a relieved smile. He moved around to lean against the wall beside Matteo. “So, you gonna audition?”

The thought of being the lead stirred something strange from deep within him. A desire he hadn’t known was there at all. He tried to bury it back down. Now that it’d been awoken, however, it refused to be extinguished. It was ridiculous. 

“I don’t know,” Matteo said after a while.

“You should go for it,” Jonas encouraged him. “Your voice is too good to be hidden in the back.”

Matteo flushed. He’d be lying if he said he’d never thought about it before. Standing in the front, leading the melody. Being the heart of the song. He never thought it was an actual possibility. Now…

Was it shitty to want to take the position his best friend held for almost two years? Jonas himself said he should do it. Still, Matteo couldn’t help feeling weird about it. Evidently not weird enough to stop that desire.

“We’ll see.” 

*********

Homework was perhaps the most tedious thing about life. That and housework. Not that Matteo did much of that.

He set his pen down and rubbed his eyes. Marine ecosystems could wait until tomorrow. Matteo had enough for one night.

He pushed himself out of his chair with a drawn-out groan. Had a nice, long stretch. Scratched his belly. Looked around his room for anything to do. Frowned when he noticed his laptop wasn’t on his bed like it always was.

“Ugh.”

Matteo trudged down the hallway, headed for the kitchen. He leaned in to each door he passed for a few seconds, listening in. Silence from Linn. Shrieks of laughter from Hans and his friends. Moans from Mia and Alex. Matteo pulled back from her door with a frown. Shuddered in disgust. How dare they have sex in the privacy of her room where anyone could eavesdrop in on.

His phone buzzed in this pocket, thankfully drawing his attention away from _that_.

**Mamma is calling**

Matteo hurried to the kitchen, staring at his phone as he went. He held it carefully as if it were a bomb. Debated whether or not he should answer. Well, obviously he _should_. The real issue was if he would. It _had_ been ages since their last talk. She told him all about her own church choir and how impressed they all were that her son was a ‘little star’. 

“Fuck.” Matteo gave in and picked up right about it was about to ring out. “Hi.”

“Matteo,” mamma said chirpily. _Shit._ Matteo recognised that tone in her voice. The one she used to pretend everything was fine. To overcompensate for the fact that she was on verge of completely falling apart.

Answering was the right choice. “Um. Is everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah,” mamma said, voice already faltering. Matteo knew it wouldn’t take much for her to unravel.

“Okay,” he said. “How are things?”

“Things are good,” she said, attempting a laugh. The laugh quickly turned into a sob. There it was.

“Mamma.”

“I wanted to be calm for this,” she cried.

That did not sound good. Matteo gulped. “Mm- it’s okay,” he tried. What else could he say?

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be.”

“No, I’m sorry it’s my fault your father left.”

An ugly swirl disturbed his gut. “You’re upset about him,” he surmised, ignoring her comment. He didn’t ever want to talk about that.

Mamma was quite for a long time. Matteo listened to her shaky breathing, heart clenching. “The divorce was finalised.”

“Today?”

“Last week.”

That ugly swirl and heart clench made an uncomfortable mix in Matteo’s body. He felt stupid for wanting to cry. This was a long time coming. And now it was final. He really was gone. It really was over.

“Are you alright?” mamma asked because even when her world was falling apart, she always thought of him.

He swallowed down the sobs that tried to escape his throat. Pushed the hair off his forehead and bunched it tightly in his fingers. “Uh. Yeah.” He cleared his throat, aching from resisting those sobs. “Are you?”

Mamma took several seconds to answer. “I am now that I can hear your voice.”

 _Shit._ That wasn’t helping him not cry.

“I love you,” she said with a sniffle.

“Love you too,” he muttered. He always hated saying that. Too personal, too embarrassing. But it was true. He loved her. And she needed to hear it.

“Can… can we sing our song?”

Matteo squeezed his eyes shut. When Matteo was six, they made a little song together. About the sunshine. They used to sing it to each other almost every day. Then it became every so often. Then not at all. Matteo couldn’t remember the last time they sung it together. It always used to help when he was sad.

“Yeah,” he said. Matteo regretted he wasn’t there with her. They could both use a hug. This was what he could give her instead. 

With teary voices on a Monday afternoon, they sang.

*********

Matteo got to rehearsal early on Thursday.

Mrs. Dandekar did a doubletake when he walked in. Kiki gasped. Amira joked he must’ve been replaced with a robot. It was kind of annoying. He was perfectly capable of turning up early. Just because he never did didn’t mean he couldn’t.

There was a motive behind it, of course. If he was going to go for the lead soloist part, he was going to take it seriously. And he was going to get it. For mamma.

He sat at the back of the room, ignoring the jokes and teasing with the knowledge that he was going to beat every single one of them. 

“Okay, everyone,” Mrs. Dandekar said when the last person arrived. “I’ve got another announcement.”

_Uh oh_

The choir let out a collective groan. Almost sounded rehearsed.

Mrs. Dandekar laughed at their dread. “It’s a good one this time.” She gestured to someone and a guy walked to the front.

Matteo’s gut flipped. It was ‘The Guy’ he met on the way to rehearsal on Monday. His eyes met Matteo’s and he gave him a nod. _Oh shit._ How could something so simple knock the wind out of him? He was such a loser.

“This is David,” Mrs. Dandekar said. “He’ll be joining us.”

“Hold on, doesn’t he have to audition to join?” Kiki asked. “He can’t join just like that.”

“Now, Kiki–” 

“No, she’s right,” David said. He looked up at Matteo again. “I’ll sing for you right now.”

Matteo gulped. This fucking dude.

“Oh, lovely,” Mrs. Dandekar enthused.

David slid his hands into his pockets. He looked cool and he knew it. “So, this is _Take me to church_.”

From the very first note, David had everyone hooked. The room was filled with the most beautiful voice Matteo had ever heard. He was _good._ Matteo had never heard this song before, but it was his new favourite. He was sure the real song wouldn’t compare to David’s impromptu acapella rendition.

Everyone was stunned into silence. It was over all too soon. David finished with a nervous laugh. He glanced around the room, awaiting the response.

Markus began the applause and soon after, the entire room was cheering and clapping. There were even woof whistles. Matteo begun to get unsettled. Sure, he was good, but it wasn’t like he was Sam Smith, or anything. There was a strange feeling at the pit of his stomach.

“Wow,” Mrs. Dandekar laughed joyfully. “David, that was beautiful.”

“Thanks.”

Mrs. Dandekar looked at Kiki and asked, “What do you think? Can he join?”

“Yes!” she said, way too enthusiastically for Matteo’s liking.

“Well then, welcome, David! Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?”

He shrugged coolly and jeeze, they got it, he wanted everyone to think he was cool. “Me and my sister just moved here from Munich,” he began and _of course._ That explained why he was trying so hard. “She was worried about me making friends so she signed me up for choir.”

 _What._ This guy walks in here, thinking he can take over just like that and he didn’t even sign up himself? Matteo didn’t know what was happening to him. He hadn’t thought like this since first year when he… when he messed with Hanna and Jonas. But this was completely different. He wasn’t jealous of this David guy. No way. What did he possibly have to be jealous of?

“We’re very happy to have you onboard, David,” Mrs. Dandekar said genuinely. “I think you’ve all got some tough competition for lead soloist.”

That was the last straw. Matteo was so going to own this guy.

*********

Why were people always so fascinated by the new kid?

Matteo didn’t get it when everyone obsessed over Markus last year and he definitely didn’t get it now. What exactly was so special about _David Schreiber_ that had everyone hanging off his every word? So what if he was talented and smart and looked like _that_. He was a jerk.

That became abundantly clear when he inserted himself into a conversation he was _not_ invited to the following week.

Matteo was standing by his locker with his friends when Carlos told him, “You’ve got an eyelash there.”

Matteo touched his cheek and collected the eyelash on his finger. “Can I make a wish now?” he joked.

“It’s just an eyelash,” David said as he walked past because he was a nosy asshole.

And it all went downhill from there.

Admittedly, it started with Matteo. The first two choir rehearsal meetings, David tried to talk to him, joke with him. He walked right up to him in his corner and said, “You want to know the real reason I moved?”

“Not really,” Matteo had shrugged.

David ignored the obvious diss and said, “I killed someone.”

“I hope you get caught,” Matteo said.

David laughed. He thought he was joking. Like they were friends or something. His face dropped when Matteo didn’t laugh with him. Matteo just stared at him until he walked away.

The second time he tried, Matteo had simply asked, “Do you want something?” and David understood clearly. They were not going to be friends.

It was infuriating that everyone else seemed to be so enamoured with him. They all laughed at all his stupid jokes that were only half funny. Cheered when he sang for them. Complimented his fluffy hair, his cool jacket, the pins on his backpack. It drove Matteo mad. And David knew it.

He knew it and he used it every chance he got. When Leonie told him he was going to famous one day, he thanked her profusely, going on about how _sweet_ that was while looking Matteo in the eye. Whenever Mrs. Dandekar offered him praise, he’d raise a cocky brow at Matteo.

Matteo couldn’t let him have the upper hand. When Sara was sick, he made sure to get her to stand beside David in practise. Watching David cover his mouth every time she sniffed was the highlight of his day. He might be a little disturbed.

People noticed, too. Matteo interrupted Jonas’s important discussion about his recording contract to say, “Whose funeral is it?” when David passed him in the very same dark ensemble he wore when they first met. 

David looked him up and down, making Matteo shiver. He _hated_ the way David’s stares made him feel. David smirked. “Yours.” With that, he continued down the hall. They both brought out the worst in each other; the idiot twelve year old boy within them. 

“What was that?” Jonas asked.

“What?”

Jonas pointed in the direction David went. “ _That._ That snarkiness.”

“He’s a jerk.”

“Since when? We have maths together. He’s really cool.” Matteo scoffed. “Okay,” Jonas conceded. “I was just about to ask if you wanted any help with your audition song.”

Now Matteo was interested. “Would you?” 

Jonas laughed. “Now you’re listening, huh?” Matteo gave him a bashful look. Jonas patted his shoulder. “After lunch tomorrow?”

“Works for me.”

“See you then, Luigi.”

Matteo couldn’t wait. He’d been intensley secretive about his audition. While the rest of the choir sampled songs for each other for feedback between arrangements, Matteo kept right to himself. No one could get even a slight hint from him. There was no way he was going to give anyone the chance to sabotage him.

He was going to get this part. No matter what. For mamma.

*********

“Luigi!” exclaimed Jonas. “That was awesome.”

Matteo ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah?”

“You’re going to be great.”

“You don’t have any notes?”

Jonas narrowed his eyes at him. “You sure you want to hear them?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know, with how competitive you’ve been lately… you’re not really…”

Matteo frowned. “What?”

“You’re not yourself.”

He was right. The last several weeks, Matteo had been a bit of a dick. He was never this ruthless. This alive. He didn’t usually care this much about anything.

“I guess I really want this.”

“Sure, but is it worth the personality transplant?”

Matteo shrugged and picked at his sleeve. “I’m not the only one being harsh.”

Jonas sighed. “Is this about David again? Dude, he’s a good guy, I don’t know why you hate him so much.”

Matteo didn’t _hate_ him. He just wanted him to leave their choir alone and get his beautiful face away from him forever. “You wouldn’t get it.”

“You know, if you actually got to know him, you’d really like him.”

Matteo scrunched his face at the idea. Never at any point had he liked David. Their first meeting was… it was… a fluke! It was fake. He didn’t think about him and his smile for the rest of the day at all. No. 

“Really, you have a lot in common,” Jonas insisted. “He’s got your same weird humour. And…” Jonas considered what he was going to say before he continued. “Didn’t you say deep brown eyes was your type?”

Matteo flushed head to toe. Everything burned. Itched. He let out a choked laugh. “What?!”

Jonas raised a knowing brow at him. “That’s it? You hate him because he’s hot?”

“I don’t hate him,” Matteo said. He didn’t hate anyone, really. Not even his dickhole father. “And it’s not because – Why would I – He’s not –”

Jonas laughed. “I get it, he’s really easy on the eyes.”

“Fuck you,” Matteo said, joining his laughter.

There was no question of David’s… _favourable_ looks. That had nothing to do with why Matteo couldn’t stand him. This was the first time Matteo had ever wanted something so bad and he was not about to let some new kid sweep in and get it handed to him. Especially when everything was so easy for this guy. He had everyone wrapped around his finger in five seconds and a voice like a god. And then there were the things his lingering looks did to Matteo’s insides. But no one needed to know about that.

They got back to business and ran through the song several more times with Jonas’s feedback. By the end of study period, Matteo felt more ready for his audition than ever. He was grateful for his musical genius of a friend.

“Think I’ll get it?” Matteo asked as they gathered their bags.

“You know I can’t say,” Jonas told him. He decided not to be one of the judges, but a special ‘consultant’ instead. This school treated him like he was Shawn Mendes sometimes. “But I think you’ve got a really good shot.”

They opened the door to see none other than David standing on the other side. His hand was raised, poised to knock. “Oh.”

“Hey, David,” Jonas greeted.

“Hey.” He eyed Matteo, who grew increasingly annoyed with each millisecond they stood there. David caught on because he always did and looked back to Jonas with a casual smile. “Thanks for helping me with my audition song the other day. I really appreciated your expertise.”

“Glad I could help.”

“Wait,” Matteo said, looking over at Jonas cautiously. “You helped _him_?”

Jonas shrugged like it was no big deal. As if he hadn’t just committed the most heinous betrayal. “Yeah.”

Matteo slid past David and bolted down the hallway while Jonas called after him. The blood was boiling too hot in his ears for him to make out what Jonas was saying. He felt like an idiot. There he was, thinking about how lucky he was to have Jonas. About how maybe just maybe he was a little bit right about him and David.

It was all going to end tomorrow. _Game on_. 

*********

Mamma hugged Matteo until he couldn’t breathe. He needed those lungs for tomorrow.

“Mamma,” he wheezed.

“Oh,” she laughed and pulled away, moving her hands to cup his face. “I’m just so happy you’re here.”

So was Matteo. He told her. She hugged him again. “Mamma,” he laughed.

“Sorry, sorry.” She led him into the dining room where she’d laid out a roast dinner. “Hope you’re hungry.” Matteo’s stomach chose the right moment to growl. “Guess so.” 

He chuckled, embarrassed. “Uh, yeah.” 

They sat and dug right into dinner. It was the most delicious meal Matteo had ever eaten. Coming from the king of pasta. He’d need to fuel up before tomorrow. Couldn’t eat much before the audition.

“How’s choir going?” mamma asked after a while. He’d been dying to tell her about it the moment he walked in the door.

“Really good,” he said through a mouthful of potatoes. She laughed, fond. Matteo gulped down his mouthful. “What?”

Mamma shook her head. “Just. You.” Matteo didn’t know so much emotion could be packed into that one simple word. She put in so much meaning without saying much. Mamma reached across the table and took his hand. “I want you to know how proud I am of you. Always.”

Matteo gulped down the emotion that drudged up. “I’m proud of you too,” he said. He was. She’d come so far since the hospital. She squeezed his hand. He squeezed back.

“Look at me,” she laughed at herself tearily. Took her hand back to dab at her eyes. “Now. Tell me about choir.”

Matteo told her everything that was going on. About Jonas and the auditions and _David_. He talked animatedly while mamma listened intently. Getting it all out felt like taking a load off.

After, he sat back into the old chair they’d had since before he could remember, enjoying the relief. He noticed the unreadable look on mamma’s face. “What?”

“I’ve never seen you like this before.”

“Like what?”

“So passionate.”

It hit Matteo like a wave. Just how much he cared about choir. Initially, he only joined to make mamma happy. Stayed because it was actually kind of fun. Tried because he was good. Vowed to get the lead soloist part to make mamma proud. Although, she was proud of him no matter what. It was so much more than that now. The real reason this was so important to him.

He loved it. 

*********

> **Mamma:** Break a leg!
> 
> Proud of U

“Anyone I know?” Jonas asked.

Matteo tucked his phone into his pocket. “Just my mum.” They looked at each other awkwardly. “Listen, I–” he began.

“Matteo, I–” Jonas said at the same time.

They stopped and shared an awkward laugh. “You go,” Matteo said.

“I helped everyone with their song,” Jonas said and Matteo felt like a bigger idiot that he did yesterday. “I thought you knew. I wasn’t, like, helping David behind your back.”

“I know,” Matteo said. “I kind of overreacted.”

Jonas smiled at him. “I get it. I know how important this is to you.”

“You’re right, though. I’ve been such a shit to everyone.”

“One person in particular.” Jonas nodded over at David across the room.

Matteo wasn’t quite ready to admit that yet. “Maybe.” 

Jonas laughed. “Maybe.”

“Okay, people!” Mrs. Dandekar called from the stage. “The day has finally come. Good luck everyone. Have fun!”

“Good luck,” Jonas said.

The auditions were interesting. Kiki belted out a Jessie J hit, only to choke on the last note. Sara completely froze up. Markus forgot the words to his song. Hanna was great, though her song was so boring, it almost put everyone to sleep. All the others had various levels of success and defeat.

It came down to, as always, David and Matteo.

Matteo sung Sam Smith’s _Too good at goodbyes_ like his life depended on it. He hit every note without falter. It was the best he’d ever sung. The rest of the choir cheered for him when he was done. Even David.

“Nice,” Mrs. Dandekar said. The other music teachers beside her all relayed their praises.

Pride burst from Matteo’s chest. He was great. Confidence joined the pride. 

And then it was David’s turn. He sung another Hozier song; one Matteo hadn’t heard before. As always, he left everyone entranced. It was beautiful. Matteo couldn’t decide if he wanted to kiss him or throw an egg at him. His heart thudded hard against his ribcage. It would be neck and neck.

The choir erupted into applause at the song’s end. David took a silly bow and walked off the stage suavely. Maybe Matteo hated him a little.

The teachers excused themselves to discuss while everyone congratulated or consoled each other. Amira rubbed Kiki’ back. She hadn’t stopped crying since her disaster. Matteo felt bad for her. He approached.

“What do you want?” she sniffled. Amira gave him a look that said ‘you mess with her and you’re a dead man.’

Matteo gulped. “I just wanted… you did really good.”

Kiki laughed bitterly. “Until I blew it.”

“You sounded really good until that – uh… It was really brave to pick that song.”

“It wasn’t worth it.”

“Next time it will be.”

She blew her nose loudly. “Think so?”

“Yeah. You’re good.”

She eyed him, trying to determine whether he was being serious or not. Finally settled on a sad, but grateful smile. “Thanks.”

He nodded and walked over to a wall he could lean on in peace.

“That was really nice,” David said.

Matteo jumped. He didn’t notice him there. “Yeah.”

“You were good.”

Matteo snapped his head to look at him. David appeared sincere. Matteo cleared his throat, trying and failing to fight off a blush. “I know.” David huffed a laugh and Matteo bit back a smile. “You were good too,” he said because it was true.

“I know.”

After what felt like hours, Mrs. Dandekar returned with Jonas and the others. They stood on the stage and everyone held their breaths.

“Thank you everyone for putting so much effort into this,” Mrs. Dandekar began. “Well done to you all. Even if you didn’t do as well as you hoped, you should all be proud of yourselves.” She led everyone in applause for… everyone. “This was a very hard decision we didn’t take lightly. But one we’ve made.” She paused, getting everyone on the edge of their seats. Matteo wished she’d just spit it out already. “Well, no need to drag it out any longer. Congratulations, David!”

The auditorium was filled with cheers and those fucking woof whistles Matteo couldn’t stand. It all faded into white noise. He couldn’t be here. He had to get out.

Matteo slipped out, knowing no one would notice he was gone. They’d all be busy praising their new lead. Matteo was utterly crushed. The ugly truth of life. Sometimes you can work so hard for something and still lose. Want it so much only to see it go to someone else. It wasn’t like David didn’t deserve it. He was incredible. That only crushed Matteo more.

He made his way outside and collapsed against one of the exterior walls of the building. Sighed out his disappointment. Held his despaired head in his hands for a while. _Fuck._

He straightened up when he heard footsteps. It was the very last person he needed to see.

“Come to gloat?”

“No.” David stood beside him and rested against the wall gently, as if he were trying not to scare him away. “Are you okay?”

Matteo shrugged. “I’ll get over it.”

“Still sucks.”

“Yeah.” It really did.

They were silent for a while. “You know, I lied about my sister signing me up,” David confessed. “I only joined when I found out you were in choir.” David laughed at himself. “I wanted to get to know you.” 

Matteo studied him. Why was he being nice to him? And why would he admit something so… _Oh shit_ , David was smiling at him. The same smile he gave him when they first met. When Matteo thought of him as the cute new guy he wanted to walk to class.

“But you decided you hated me, so.” He shrugged. “I got caught up in that. Acted like a dick back.”

Matteo was the biggest idiot to walk the earth. Coming from the guy who was friends with Abdi Ates. “I never hated you,” Matteo admitted apologetically. “I was… _jealous_ of how easy you fit in with everyone. Got competitive when I heard how good you are.”

“This is the first place I’ve ever fit in.”

Matteo got so caught up in his bitterness, he hadn’t considered David was an actual person with a past and problems and feelings. “I’m sorry. I’m a dick.”

“A little bit, yeah.”

They laughed. Really, truly laughed. Together.

“I haven’t been so great, either.”

“We could start over?” Matteo suggested. David looked at him hopefully. He was so cute.

“Sure.”

Matteo smiled. “Sure.” 

“And about the lead, I can always tell Mrs. Dandekar–”

“You earned it,” Matteo interrupted. He only wanted to win if it was by his own merit. “Really, I’ll get over it.” Matteo bit at his thumb. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

There was one big thing left unsaid between them. After David’s honesty, Matteo felt he owed it to him to say it. “I… I haven’t really stopped thinking about you since that day in the hall.” David frowned. “On your first day.”

David laughed. “The old ‘pulling on your crush’s pigtails’ bit.”

Matteo flushed. “Who said anything about a crush?”

“I have a pretty good feeling.”

*********

Jonas was always right. Even when he was wrong.

Matteo and David became fast friends. As instantly as Matteo had forced them into that ridiculous little rivalry. They would be late to classes talking in the hall, gravitate towards each other whenever they were in the same room, abandon conversations with other people to be together, even for a moment.

They helped each other rehearse one on one, long after choir rehearsal was over. Matteo would send David memes late in the night. David would send him little drawings he looked at whenever he needed a laugh. He’d never connected with anyone like this.

His friends went from teasing him about hating David to teasing him about loving him. And Matteo would fall asleep thinking about his smile. What it would feel like to touch his hair, his face. His lips.

Matteo wasn’t sure it was ever going to happen. They never talked about what they were. Friends? A thing? Just two guys who hung out sometimes? And although they cleared the air between them, Matteo couldn’t help but wonder if David still resented him for being such a jerk. He regretted every bad thought he’d ever had about him. It was all bullshit. David was one of the best people he knew. He didn’t know how to tell him. So he put it off. 

Until the night of the Christmas concert arrived.

He was going to tell David how he felt. Ask him what they were.

“Um, has anyone seen David?” Leonie asked. If he could find him.

“He’s not here?” asked Matteo.

Leonie shook her head. “He was a second ago but he disappeared. We’ve been looking everywhere for him.”

Matteo left the auditorium through the backstage door. Walked the long way around to get to where he needed. It was only guess, but David was there. Leaning against that same spot on the wall where everything changed between them.

“Everyone’s looking for you,” Matteo said. David didn’t respond. He closed his eyes and breathed deep. “Are you okay?”

“I can’t do this.” 

“Why?”

David looked at him, eyes watery. “I just can’t.”

“David–”

He flinched away from Matteo’s outstretched hand. “Don’t.”

“Let me help you.”

“You’re just gonna try to convince me to sing.”

“Yeah, I am,” Matteo joked. David didn’t laugh. He’d never seen him like this. “Shit. Okay. So, you’re nervous.”

“Nervous,” David laughed incredulously. “I’m freaking out.” There was a grand difference between singing for friends and in front of a huge crowd.

Matteo gently rested a hand on David’s arm. The contact sent tingles through Matteo’s entire body. He ignored them to say, “If you really don’t want to do it, everyone would understand.”

“But I’d be letting everyone down.”

“It’s just one concert. You’re more important.”

David released a shaky breath. “We worked so hard.”

Matteo rubbed his arm. He didn’t know what to say to that. Except, “It’s okay to be scared.” David sniffed and Matteo’s heart hurt for him. “But I’m here for you.”

David looked at him. Really looked at him. Like he _saw_ him. “You used to hate me,” he laughed softly.

“I told you, I never hated yo–”

David interrupted that sentence the best way he possibly could. He kissed Matteo. Just a small, quick peck. It was enough to melt Matteo’s heart. Turned into mush. David pulled back with a nervous smile. “Was that okay?”

Matteo smiled back. “I couldn’t tell. Can we try again?”

“Yeah.”

They leaned in, arms wrapping around each other as their lips met again. This kiss was much, much longer. Matteo’s every nerve ending vibrated. David’s lips were soft and warm and perfect. Matteo never ever wanted to stop kissing him. The human need for oxygen had other ideas.

David pressed his forehead against Matteo and laughed joyously. Matteo joined him. Caressed his face. David nuzzled into it. “That made me feel a lot better.”

“Oh yeah?” David nodded, giving Matteo that gorgeous smile he dreamed about. “Maybe we should keep going, then.” David pulled him back in with another laugh. They kissed and laughed and held each other close. This was easily the best night of Matteo’s life.

“Hey!” Kiki called. They pulled apart to look at her, beyond unimpressed at the interruption. “You can make out later, we need to warm up. Come on!”

“Will you be okay?” Matteo asked, playing with the hair at the nape of David’s neck.

He gave him another peck. “If we keep doing that.” And another. “For luck.”

Matteo would happily oblige. He leaned in and– 

“Come on!” Kiki snapped, making them jump.

David let out another deep breath, much calmer than just a few moments ago. “Fuck. Let’s do this.”

Matteo was just a little bit in love with him. “Let’s do it.”

They snuck back into the auditorium, hand in hand, ready to take on the world. They would start with the Christmas concert.

The choir gave them knowing looks the entire warm up. Including Mrs. Dandekar. Matteo wondered how much of a mess he looked. When they were finished, he managed to sneak a look on his phone camera. The looks and giggles made sense. Matteo’s hair was a mess. His lips were red. David wasn’t doing much better himself. It was a good look on him.

He was standing by the curtain, eyes closed, leading himself through some deep breaths. Matteo approached him and hugged him from behind, pulling him into his chest. No one was watching them. 

David placed his arms on top of Matteo’s and squeezed. “Holy shit.”

“You can do this.”

David turned in his arms. Wrapped his own around Matteo’s waist. Made his gut flip. “You used to piss me off so much.”

Matteo leaned in to nuzzle his nose. “So did you.”

“Now you make me calm.”

“We’re gonna be up on that stage together,” Matteo said softly. “You’re not alone.”

David smiled at him. Leaned in for one last kiss. “Keep me in your thoughts.”

This fucking guy. Matteo’s wonderful boy. He laughed, thinking back to how enchanted he was back when they first spoke. Even more so now. David was always on his mind. Whether he loathed him or adored him, he was all Matteo ever thought about from the moment they met. Matteo knew it would stay that way for a long time. Maybe even forever. 

“Always.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope everyone's having a good week :)
> 
> Come say hi to me on tumblr at [thegirlnooneknows5](http://thegirlnooneknows5.tumblr.com/)  
> My ask is always open and I am always lonely <3


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